HORNWORMS on TOBACCO 



how to control them 



Hornworms are found wherever tobacco is 

 grown. They feed on the leaves of the growing 

 plants, cutting holes that may be 3 or 4 inches 

 across. They can destroy an entire crop if the 

 grower takes no measures to control them. 



In the United States hornworms cause more 

 damage to tobacco than any other pest. The 

 damage is estimated at $80 million annually. 



Two species of hornworms occur on tobacco — 

 the tobacco hornworm 1 and the tomato horn- 

 worm. 2 



WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE 



Hornworms are the caterpillars, or young, of 

 large, brownish-gray moths. 



The caterpillars are green (some are brown to 

 black), and 3 to 4 inches long when full grown. 

 They are called hornworms because of the con- 

 spicuous hornlike appendage that is found at the 

 end of the body. 



The tobacco hornworm has seven diagonal 

 white stripes on each side of the body ; the horn 

 is curved and red. The tomato hornworm has 

 eight V-shaped stripes on each side of the body ; 

 the horn is straight and black. 



HOW THEY DEVELOP 



The hornworms' life stages are as follows: 

 Egg, larva (caterpillar) , pupa, and adult (moth) . 



The female moth lays round, green eggs, prin- 

 cipally on the undersides of tobacco leaves. The 

 eggs hatch in about 5 days. 



As soon as they are hatched, hornworms be- 

 gin feeding on the leaves. They continue feed- 

 ing 2 to 3 weeks. During this time, they molt, 

 or shed their skin, 4 or 5 times. When full 

 grown, the hornworms crawl to the ground, bur- 

 row several inches into the soil, and construct 

 cells, in which they transform into pupae. 



The pupae are dark-brown, jug shaped, and 

 about 2 inches long. They are a familiar sight 

 in a tobacco field when the soil is being plowed. 



The pupal, or resting, stage usually lasts 2 to 

 4 weeks; then moths emerge from their pupal 

 cases and make their way to the soil surface. 

 The moths do not feed on tobacco leaves, but 



1 Protoparce sexto. 



2 Protoparce quinquemaculata. 



